I'm very much looking forward to CineMuseum's THE ROUND-UP restoration, congratulations to Paul and everyone involved! It's interesting that Irving Cummings has a featured role in both THE ROUND-UP and Buster Keaton's starring feature debut THE SAPHEAD that same year. As a director Cummings later helmed HOLLYWOOD CAVALCADE (1939), with its affectionate nods to both Buster and the late Roscoe Arbuckle.

"Of course he smiled -- just like you and me." -- Harold Goodwin, on Buster Keaton (1976)

It’s with a resounding “Hurrah!” that I greet CineMuseum’s newest release, a Blu-ray/DVD combo of Roscoe Arbuckle’s first feature film, The Round Up (1920). If you’ve read any of my Comique Month series from last July, you’ll know that I’m a big Arbuckle fan. So having this charming Western available is a nice boon for my collection.

Prior to making The Round Up, Arbuckle had been first a Keystone comedian and then a top-notch comedy director and star at his own studio, Comique. He famously gave Buster Keaton his first film roles. Around 1919 he got an offer to star in features, so he handed over the Comique reins to Keaton and went to work on feature #1.

Sadly, after working like crazy on several features in a row (early 1920s studios churned out features as fast as a mini donut machine), the infamous Rappe scandal hit and Arbuckle films were pulled out of circulation. And thus, The Round Up was unavailable for nearly a century–until this very spring!

An interesting bit of trivia: This feature was based on a 1907 play that starred well-known stage actor Macklyn Arbuckle. Macklyn was the actor who coined the doleful phrase “Nobody loves a fat man,” but after The Round Up was released in 1920 the phrase was forever associated with the other Arbuckle–Roscoe!

Arbuckle was given the role of Sheriff “Slim” Hoover so he could work while films more tailored to his talents were being prepared. In general, cowboy heroes in silent Westerns tended to be lean, strong-jawed types like Tom Mix, so Arbuckle’s role was a little atypical. But he does an excellent job, still using his familiar comic timing and flourishes but within a more subtle, “light comedy” format.

As a whole, The Round Up is a pretty standard Western drama with familiar situations and characters (Wallace Beery plays a villain, because of course), enlivened by Arbuckle’s presence. This particular DVD set, however, has the advantages of Donald Sosin’s evocative new score (Sosin’s one of my favorite silent accompanists), and the beautiful print quality. CineMuseum performed a stunning 4K digital transfer and restoration from the 35mm archival master print preserved by the Library of Congress and Paramount Archives. As a result, we’re presented with a crisp, perfectly tinted film looking pretty much the way a 1920 audience would’ve seen it. This is the sort of thing we silent film fans live for!

And by the way, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for a certain famous “Easter egg” in the form of Buster Keaton making an unbilled appearance as an American Indian. (By a painful-looking fall ye shall know him.)

Also included in the set are the Keystone shorts A Bandit and Peeping Pete (both 1913, and both in very nice quality), a commentary track by historian Richard M. Roberts (I always enjoy CineMuseum’s commentaries!), a gallery of posters and other promo items, and a booklet. This release is fascinating for both silent comedy fans and lovers of old Westerns–and it’s certainly important for Keaton completists! You can buy it here: www.CineMuseumLLC.com

Specialty distributors haven’t given up on DVDs and Blu-rays. In fact, they seem to be busier than ever releasing rare films and archival oddities, faster than I can possibly review them. Here is a sampling of some goodies I’ve enjoyed recently.

As you probably know, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle’s career ground to a halt once he became the center of a headline-making scandal in 1921. This left half-a-dozen feature films on the shelf, most of which are considered lost. Fortunately, his first feature, The Round Up (1920) exists in a stunning 35mm print at the Library of Congress. Cinemuseum has just released a beautiful dual-disc set on DVD and Blu-ray with a first-rate piano score by Donald Sosin. The irony is that The Round Up was not only Arbuckle’s first starring feature: it was also his first major dramatic role. If you’re looking for typical roughhouse slapstick, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The star plays Sheriff Slim Hoover, who gets involved in the social misadventures in his community. Arbuckle treats his part with a light touch that suits him well. If your eyes are razor-sharp you may spy Roscoe’s pal Buster Keaton in a bit part as an Apache. It’s much easier to identify two future comedy directors in major roles: A. Edward Sutherland and Lloyd Bacon. (If you want a guide to all of this, you can listen to Richard M. Roberts’ commentary track.) The Round Up was based on a play by Edmund Day and was directed by the prolific George Melford, who one year later made Rudolph Valentino’s The Sheik. Accompanying the feature are restorations of two early Arbuckle shorts from 1913, A Bandit and Peeping Pete, with organ accompaniment by Dennis Scott. There are also generous galleries of posters, photos, original pressbook materials, and a full-color booklet that reproduces some of this appealing artwork. I look forward to more such rarities from Cinemuseum.

I've wanted to see "The Round-Up" for a long, long time. Now that I have, I believe it has joined the ranks of my favorite silent films. It's gorgeous to look at. And it's exciting, amusing and, at times, profoundly moving.

I've always felt that Roscoe Arbuckle is one of the great film comedians but "The Round-Up" makes me a bit wistful that he didn't do more projects like this. His role as the sheriff is performed with nuance and subtlety, a man both so full of himself that people tend to snicker at him behind his back, but also genuinely loved by by the townspeople. At the same time, he is so lonely and insecure that he can break your heart. It's beautiful work from a gifted actor.

And speaking of beautiful, the Lone Pine scenery is eye-popping, and presented magnificently on CineMuseum's new Blu-Ray. This restoration does full justice to the scenic splendor of this spectacular location. Thanks to Paul E. Gierucki, Richard M. Roberts and everyone else involved in bringing this important and supremely entertaining film back to life.

Author and film historian extraordinaire Ed Watz has officially weighed in on THE ROUND UP! We thank you, Ed!

5.0 out of 5 stars

Beautifully restored classic from the great Roscoe Arbuckle, plus an abundance of dazzling extras

By Edward WATZ on June 14, 2018

When I was a kid growing up in New York City, a movie memorabilia shop I frequented had an original poster of THE ROUND UP on display in their window. Whenever I passed the shop I just had to chuckle at the image: a baby-faced sheriff (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle) was impishly pointing his six-shooter at one of the most ornery-looking "bad guys" in the history of cowboy movies (character actor Wallace Beery). For years I read accounts about THE ROUND UP and what a breakthrough first feature-film it had been for Roscoe Arbuckle. But I never dreamed that I'd ever get the chance to see the film -- that is, until now!

Thanks to CineMuseum LLC, THE ROUND UP is gorgeously presented here, with a new 4K digital transfer and restoration of the 35mm archival master preserved by Paramount Archives and the Library of Congress. This was the first of countless Westerns to be filmed on location in Lone Pine, California; THE ROUND UP's outdoor vistas are visually stunning; and the superb digital restoration means that this film now looks even better than what original audiences saw 98 years ago. Most importantly, this legendary Western starring one of the greatest of all silent film comedians lives up to its reputation. Roscoe Arbuckle gives his most sensitive screen portrayal as Sheriff Slim Hoover in a serio-comic role, showing the impressive depth of his range; for most of us who are only familiar with Arbuckle's slapstick short comedies, THE ROUND UP is a fascinating revelation. (And the film has another startling revelation: Buster Keaton contributes a cameo appearance as a Native American!) An excellent new score composed and performed by Donald Sosin provides the perfect accompaniment to the film, and there's audio commentary by the frequently enlightening and always entertaining film historian Richard M. Roberts. Mr. Roberts' comments are like getting a liberal education on the history of the silent film era, Roscoe Arbuckle, the cast and crew, Paramount Pictures, etc., etc., plus it's stimulating and a lot of fun.

This two-disc set is a dual format release, which means that both a BluRay and a dvd are included. There's a wealth of extras that are just as rare and worth having, including two new restorations of Arbuckle’s earliest Keystone comedy shorts: A BANDIT and PEEPING PETE (both 1913), featuring new organ scores composed and performed by Dennis Scott; a gallery of original theatrical posters, lobby cards, glass slides, stills, programs, and memorabilia; and last but certainly not least, a full color booklet featuring production information and notes on the restoration.

I greatly enjoyed everything about this set and would recommend it to all comedy fans, Western fans, anyone interested in the history of film and of course, everyone who is an admirer of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and his fabulous career.

Ed Watz stepped up to the plate and gave THE ROUND-UP a good review, now how's about some of you making the effort and give the Amazon page a good review of your own? Paul needs to sell a few more of these so a little more support wouldn't hurt.